The Official 2018 Minor League Statline and Prospect Discussion Thread

[Blarg]

[Docwaukee]

looks like there's some Miggy in there as well.  

[Second Base]

All I know is that he looks awfully comfortable at the plate, especially when you consider he's just a teenager playing against men.  There's confidence in him that is reserved for star level talent.  It isn't arrogance, just a self-assurance that he knows what he's capable of doing, and sees no reason why he can't. Saw in Trout, saw in Bonds and Griffey before  that.  I see it in Vlad jr. 

[Blarg]

He butchered two plays at third base today. He's needs more fielding practice and even with that he may not be a good fielder. 

[GrittyVeterans]

He’s fortunate to have been drafted by an AL club. I expect him to be a 1B/DH mostly and an unmitigated disaster at 3B

 

[Second Base]

10 hours ago, GrittyVeterans said:

He’s fortunate to have been drafted by an AL club. I expect him to be a 1B/DH mostly and an unmitigated disaster at 3B

 

Miguel Cabrera, once committing himself to a workout regimen and nutrition program developed into a decent LF and 3B for quite a few years.  But the move to 1B was inevitable.  The Tigers decision to move him back to 3B was funny in that it resulted in having a terrible defensive 3B with no range, but it also highlighted the fact that if your team swings the bat well enough, defense doesn't mean jack. 

This logic has been followed by the likes of New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee etc...

It's very much the anti-Eppler.  He focuses so much on defense that I think the players he chooses to bring in will frequently hurt the offense, which has been shown to be considerably more valuable than defense in this sport.  

But in regard to Vlad, my guess is the Blue Jays will have no problem playing him at 3B for a couple years.  Then he'll probably shift out to LF for a couple more years.  But by the time he signs his first free agent contract, he'll be a 1B.  Not a big deal when you have a bat like his. 

[eaterfan]

27 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

Miguel Cabrera, once committing himself to a workout regimen and nutrition program developed into a decent LF and 3B for quite a few years.  But the move to 1B was inevitable.  The Tigers decision to move him back to 3B was funny in that it resulted in having a terrible defensive 3B with no range, but it also highlighted the fact that if your team swings the bat well enough, defense doesn't mean jack. 

This logic has been followed by the likes of New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee etc...

It's very much the anti-Eppler.  He focuses so much on defense that I think the players he chooses to bring in will frequently hurt the offense, which has been shown to be considerably more valuable than defense in this sport.  

But in regard to Vlad, my guess is the Blue Jays will have no problem playing him at 3B for a couple years.  Then he'll probably shift out to LF for a couple more years.  But by the time he signs his first free agent contract, he'll be a 1B.  Not a big deal when you have a bat like his. 

I don't think that's really a fair assessment of Eppler. Bats are expensive to get and he hasn't really spent a lot of money. Defense is cheap. Plus, other than Martinez (who was always going to Boston) how many truly big bats have been on the market? He got Upton who is a bat first guy.

[Second Base]

22 minutes ago, eaterfan said:

I don't think that's really a fair assessment of Eppler. Bats are expensive to get and he hasn't really spent a lot of money. Defense is cheap. Plus, other than Martinez (who was always going to Boston) how many truly big bats have been on the market? He got Upton who is a bat first guy.

Upton was up for a gold glove. 

And there were better bats to pursue than Cam Maybin and Nava/Gentry.  He prioritized defense. 

[Docwaukee]

56 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

Upton was up for a gold glove. 

And there were better bats to pursue than Cam Maybin and Nava/Gentry.  He prioritized defense. 

he prioritized value and to him, defense is undervalued.  But he went after those guys because of $/runs.  Those runs can come in the form of runs created or runs saved.  I don't think he cares which of them he's getting a better deal on.   

[eaterfan]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

Upton was up for a gold glove. 

And there were better bats to pursue than Cam Maybin and Nava/Gentry.  He prioritized defense. 

You and I both know Eppler isn't using Gold Glove nominee as his defensive metric. You know he isn't a very good defender. He's average at an offense first position and you, I, and Eppler know the value he brings is on offense. You can't argue with a straight face that Eppler brought him in or resigned him for his glove. If Eppler wanted defense out there then he wouldn't have replaced Maybin with Upton. That move didn't "shore up the defense."

[Inside Pitch]

59 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

Upton was up for a gold glove. 

And there were better bats to pursue than Cam Maybin and Nava/Gentry.  He prioritized defense. 

He prioritized value with an eye toward staying under the cap....   The 2016 crop of OFs was extremely top heavy..  Hayward and Upton both signed for 130+ mil.  Gordon got 84 mil,  Span and Parra both got 3 year deals at or near 10 mil per while Fowler took a 1 year deal for 13 mil because he wanted to win a WS with the Cubs....  Chris Young got 2 years at 13 mil.....  De Aza Aoki, Davis, Jackson all signed 1 year deals between 5 and 6 mil.   Gentry, Nava, and Ortega, combined to earn less than 4 mil.   

2017 had Cespedes Fowler and Reddick get multi-year deals then Bautista at 18 mil.   The only people that signed at less than what Maybin was slated to make were Davis, Matt Joyce and John Jay.  None of which were coming off an offensive showing as good as Maybin in 2016.  Neither were Matt Holliday or Carlos Gomez who signed for more..

Eppler definitely values defense...  He also traded for Escobar.... Dude just looks for value.

[Second Base]

23 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

He prioritized value with an eye toward staying under the cap....   The 2016 crop of OFs was extremely top heavy..  Hayward and Upton both signed for 130+ mil.  Gordon got 84 mil,  Span and Parra both got 3 year deals at or near 10 mil per while Fowler took a 1 year deal for 13 mil because he wanted to win a WS with the Cubs....  Chris Young got 2 years at 13 mil.....  De Aza Aoki, Davis, Jackson all signed 1 year deals between 5 and 6 mil.   Gentry, Nava, and Ortega, combined to earn less than 4 mil.   

2017 had Cespedes Fowler and Reddick get multi-year deals then Bautista at 18 mil.   The only people that signed at less than what Maybin was slated to make were Davis, Matt Joyce and John Jay.  None of which were coming off an offensive showing as good as Maybin in 2016.  Neither were Matt Holliday or Carlos Gomez who signed for more..

Eppler definitely values defense...  He also traded for Escobar.... Dude just looks for value.

He looks for value and focuses on defense as a way of acquiring it.  Is that better? 

[Second Base]

46 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

he prioritized value and to him, defense is undervalued.  But he went after those guys because of $/runs.  Those runs can come in the form of runs created or runs saved.  I don't think he cares which of them he's getting a better deal on.   

He prioritizes value, and yet other GM's have had more success in unearth value, not through defensive means. 

[Inside Pitch]

15 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

He looks for value and focuses on defense as a way of acquiring it.  Is that better? 

Well, it would be a more accurate statement than the one you made previously.   So, yes.

[Docwaukee]

7 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

He prioritizes value, and yet other GM's have had more success in unearth value, not through defensive means. 

There's definitely been a blind spot for the org in Eppler's tenure as it relates to acquiring established major league players whether via trade or FAcy.  

personally, that blind spot to me is them overvaluing positional flexibility or the translation of defense to a new position.  

Like Valbuena, Maybin, Espinosa and now Cozart.  

The guys where he prioritized their truly elite defense have worked out well in Simmnons, Maldy, and Kinsler. 

 

[ettin]

5 hours ago, Dochalo said:

There's definitely been a blind spot for the org in Eppler's tenure as it relates to acquiring established major league players whether via trade or FAcy.  

personally, that blind spot to me is them overvaluing positional flexibility or the translation of defense to a new position.  

Like Valbuena, Maybin, Espinosa and now Cozart.  

The guys where he prioritized their truly elite defense have worked out well in Simmnons, Maldy, and Kinsler. 

 

Well based on what I see evaluating the roster combos and games played for 2019 we will almost certainly bring in a multi-positional type I think (I believe Fletcher thinks the same as well).

[Docwaukee]

29 minutes ago, ettin said:

Well based on what I see evaluating the roster combos and games played for 2019 we will almost certainly bring in a multi-positional type I think (I believe Fletcher thinks the same as well).

agree.  we've overpaid for this a couple times now and also overpaid for guys we think can switch positions yet still have as much defensive value yet it hasn't worked.  

[Angel Oracle]

The Red Sux showed last night how important defense was in the late innings.   Of course, Betts and Benetendi can also rake.

One can only dream ahead to Adell and either Marsh, Knowles, or Adams being of similar value ultimately alongside Trout.  

[Blarg]

Some weirdness today, Jahmai Jones is wearing #4 and the name on the back is Marson. 

His first at bat was a line drive base hit to left field. 

[Make Angels Great Again]

lol.

[Blarg]

Yeah, they are advertising the San Diego chicken will be at the Fall League All Star game. 

[Blarg]

More stats to grind your teeth while watching Baldoquin strike out.

Guerrero Jr .538 avg 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr .567 obp 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr .731 slg 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Doubles tops in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Total  Bases tops in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Extra Base Hits tops in the AFL

 

 

[Inside Pitch]

2 hours ago, Blarg said:

More stats to grind your teeth while watching Baldoquin strike out.

Guerrero Jr .538 avg 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr .567 obp 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr .731 slg 2nd in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Doubles tops in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Total  Bases tops in the AFL

Guerreo Jr  Extra Base Hits tops in the AFL

Baldo was personally scouted by the smartest man in the room.   He's not someone that's gonna need a lot of time, just needs at bats....  

Ah, the memories.....

Edited October 18, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[Blarg]

Baldoquin's batting average is 0.000

 

[Blarg]

7 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Baldwin was personally scouted by the smartest man in the room.   He's not someone that's gonna need a lot of time, just needs at bats....  

Ah, the memories.....